Judge: No bail reduction for mom accused of leaving kids in car to gamble

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- An Oakland mother who is accused of locking her kids in the car while she gambled at an East Bay casino appeared in court Thursday afternoon.

Phaley Nget is charged with child endangerment. Emergency responders rescued her two young children from a hot car Sunday.

The mother's attorney asked the judge to lower Nget's bond so she could go home to her other children. That didn't happen.

A frightened face peeking out the glass. That's how firefighters found Nget's 3-year-old daughter on Sunday. Her 2-year-old could be overheard crying.

Police who responded to the parking lot say Nget's toddlers suffered in a hot car so she could indulge a habit.

"She went, left them for over 30 minutes to go do something for her pleasure," said Livermore police Officer Traci Rebiejo.

On Thursday, Nget's attorney argued the 37-year-old mother should be released from jail because she has other high school aged children and never needed the court to step in before.

The judge kept bail at $100,000 and cited the serious nature of the offense, saying Nget told officials she went inside the casino to use the restroom, though video does not support her claims.

The judge says officers tried to approach her inside Livermore's Casino 580 and she allegedly walked past them.

The children were not injured, but local paramedics say it doesn't take long for a child to overheat.

"If you have a 90 degree day like it is today, your average temp for 10 minutes in the car goes up to about 109 degrees, then 90 minutes is about 138 degrees," said Greg Huver with the Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department.

In Washington DC on Thursday, officials kicked off a "Where's baby? Look before you lock" campaign.

One father who lost his child shared the pain of forgetting.

"To my horror I realized Peyton was still in her car seat and it's the last thing I remember," said Reggie McKinnon.

It's more common than you might think. Livermore -Pleasanton firefighters say they get called out on runs with children stuck in cars.

"Probably once or twice a month," Huver said.

Only recently has gambling been connected to hot cars.

Authorities charged a San Jose mother and a man in North Carolina with endangering their loved ones while they gambled.